Dear Editor,
Re : [Enrolment forecast to jump 1,000 by 2035, The News, Nov. 18]
SD 42 superintendent, in the above-mentioned article, mentions the need for a post-secondary institution in Maple Ridge.
Maple Ridge had a post-secondary institution, which was Douglas College. I know this for a fact because I went to Douglas College when it rented space from Thomas Haney Secondary School. However, when Douglas College built its Coquitlam campus, which was in the late 1990s, it closed its Maple Ridge campus.
Building a post-secondary institution, like Douglas College, in Maple Ridge will take time. In the meantime, perhaps Douglas College, or some other post-secondary institution can rent space in one of Maple Ridge’s high schools. If that is not feasible then maybe portables can be used until a post-secondary institution is built in Maple Ridge. Before, Douglas College moved to Thomas Haney Secondary School, for years it used portables.
I realize that none of what I said helps students now. However, I have some advice that I hope will help students now. Before I went to Douglas College I went to Open University. Open University students took courses by distance education, which was through the mail. Moreover, I was assigned a tutor, and I contacted the tutor by telephone. Nowadays, Open University students take online courses. So, some Maple Ridge students can attend Open University without ever having to leave Maple Ridge.
The same applies to Douglas College, as well as many other colleges, and universities. Douglas College’s New Westminster campus, and its Coquitlam campus, both offer a wide range of online courses. I also believe that students can complete some degrees online. Douglas College also offers associate degrees, and bachelor degrees in many disciplines.
When I went to Douglas College I had to travel to New Westminster by public transit, because Douglas College’s Coquitlam campus hadn’t been built. Also, after I completed my associate degree, I had to travel to Simon Fraser University by bus to complete my bachelor’s degree, and my post baccalaureate diploma because Douglas College didn’t offer a bachelor of arts degree in political science, and it didn’t offer a post baccalaureate diploma in women’s studies. To make matters worse I had to contend with a four-month transit strike.
The only way I survived my three-hour a day commute was to change my attitude. So, I did most of my reading on the bus. Other students slept on the bus. Additional students talked to their friends.
My last tidbit of advice is if you have the will to obtain a post-secondary education, you will find a way.
Linda Meyer, Maple Ridge
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